Dumbie House
Dumbie House, also known as Craigside House,[1][2][3] was an 18th-century building (now demolished) in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was home to Braidwood Academy, the first school for deaf children in Britain.[4] It was founded by Thomas Braidwood, a Scottish educator and pioneer in developing the hand gestures of sign language, the forerunner of British Sign Language (BSL) in 1760.[5] It is in the area known as Dumbiedykes which is named after Braidwood school's 'deaf and dumb' pupils.[6]
Early pupils included Francis Mackenzie,[4] Charles Shirreff, John Goodricke,[7] Francis McKenzie, and John Philip Wood.[8]
Samuel Johnson described his own visit to the school in 1773: "one subject of philosophical curiosity to be found in Edinburgh, which no other city has to show; a college of the deaf and dumb, who are taught to speak, to read, to write, and to practise arithmetic, by a gentleman whose name is Braidwood. The number which attends him is, I think, about twelve, which he brings together into a little school, and instructs according to their several degrees of proficiency."[9]
Sir Walter Scott mentioned Braidwood Academy in his novel Heart of Midlothian (1818).
Braidwood relocated to London in 1783,[10] and the building was demolished in 1939.[11] A commemorative plaque was placed on the site in 2015.[6][4]
Other schools for deaf children in Edinburgh include Donaldson's School for the Deaf.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ "Edinburgh, Dumbiedykes Road, Dumbie House | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Lost Edinburgh: The Dumbiedykes". www.scotsman.com. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Mr Braidwood's House, Dumbiedykes Road". Capital Collections. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "Thomas Braidwood from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Resources – Deaf History Scotland". Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Commemorative Plaque at Braidwood's Academy for Deaf & Dumb | Scottish Local History Forum". www.slhf.org. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Disability history month: John Goodricke the deaf astronomer". BBC News. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ CSambells (30 November 2017). "Hidden Edinburgh: The World's First School for the Deaf is in my back Garden". Chelsea Sambells. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Johnson & Boswell in Scotland, Part 6". OUPblog. 9 June 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Heritage Gateway - Results". www.heritagegateway.org.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Academy for the Deaf and Dumb, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland". www.childrenshomes.org.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Donaldson's Building of Edinburgh Academy (former Donaldson's School for the Deaf), including East Wing and West Wing, and excluding gates, mid-20th century extensions to rear of East and West Wings, Music Block to rear of East Wing, and various ancillary buildings along boundary wall to west of main building (except for the separately listed gate lodge, west and north boundary walls and gatepiers [LB30042]), 54 Henderson Row, Edinburgh (LB27972)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 23 October 2021.